Sport bars are a structural body component typically used in convertible vehicles, but also in certain non-convertible vehicles as well. The sport bar spans the width of the vehicle in a convex arc toward the rear of the top roof portion. The sport bar acts as an anchor point for seat belts as well as other features including e.g., lighting fixtures, trim cladding etc.
Because of its important safety function in supporting the seat belts, legal automotive standards in certain jurisdictions may require that the sport bar be able to support a threshold level of force load so that it does not fail if the seat belt is subject to large tension during, for example, an abrupt movement or an accident. This consideration favors a robust structure for the sport bar. Automotive head impact safety criteria in certain jurisdictions mandate that the sport bar be soft enough to avoid serious injury if a passenger were to strike his or her head directly against the sport bar at a high velocity during such an accident. This consideration weighs in the opposite direction, favoring a less robust construction.
Conventional single piece sport bars generally favor one design criteria over the other, in that they are either too robust for the head impact criteria, or not robust enough for the seat belt load requirements.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a sport bar that provides both adequate seat belt load support and flexibility during possible head impact. It is another object of the present invention to provide a sport bar having an adjustable width.